WE WANT ERIN ANDREWS RESPECTED, CLOTHED

The attorney for noted ESPN sideline personality Erin Andrews has issued a press release regarding a lot of video images featuring a tall, naked blonde through a peephole in a hotel room. Those videos were the subject of an internet post that speculated whether or not the woman was in fact Erin Andrews. Now, one could presume that the speculation is over:

“While alone in the privacy of her hotel room, Erin Andrews was surreptitiously videotaped without her knowledge or consent. She was the victim of a crime and is taking action to protect herself and help ensure that others are not similarly violated in the future. Although the perpetrator or perpetrators of this criminal act have not yet been identified, when they are identified she intends to bring both civil and criminal charges against them and against anyone who has published the material. We request respect of Erin’s privacy at this time, while she and her representatives are working with the authorities.” [link]

We’ve long respected Andrews’ ability to take what seems like a throwaway job on many broadcast teams and use it to enhance our enjoyment and understanding of the contest at hand. She was only recently beginning to enjoy some of the ancillary perks of her job, recently lending her voice to Electronic Arts’ video game, “NCAA Football 10,” and, according to a source, posing for the August issue of GQ. It seemed she had finally realized that she was this generation’s Dick Vitale, and was finally okay with it, ready to take the Erin Andrews persona out for a spin. And then this.

The reactions around Blogfrica have been relatively muted. The source of the videos has not been identified, though there’s been some solid guesswork as to where that person might be. As for us, we’re just sad. Sad that someone so well thought of could have been targeted like this. Erin was, and still is, Our Girl. And whoever was responsible for this had better hope that the authorities find out who this guy is before we do.

But let’s end this on a brighter note. Let’s celebrate Erin the way we’ve always loved her: with her clothes on. And not pressing charges.

Punch Rockgroin, I have been tired of Erin Andrews ever since she was butchering MLB players AND the Braves announcers names while anchoring the TBS baseball studio in 2003. The four letter network hired her on looks alone and not on any actually reporting skills. In fact, I really don’t find her that hot at all. My personal favorite female sportscaster, Bonnie Bernstein, is waaaaay hotter than Andrews, and is waaaaaay better on-the-air. Being an actual journalist with a local TV sports AND news background is a plus, back when local TV news and sports was more than 15 minutes of weather, a few minutes of fluff on a slow news day, and sports being cut to maybe two minutes.

That being said, Andrews was violated, and hopefully, whomever did it will go to jail for a long time. However, if she doesn’t handle this well, then it may be time to get out of the business and allow the Bonnie Bernsteins and the Suzy Kolbers of the world to get the spotlight back from Andrews.